*Billy Turner was indicted in 2017 on a charge of first-degree murder related to the 2010 slaying of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright. On Monday, the Tennessee man was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
We previously reported that Wright, who was 34-years-old when he died, played for the Memphis Grizzlies and four other NBA teams as a forward and center over 13 seasons before retiring in 2009. His badly decomposed body was found in Memphis on July 28, 2010, 10 days after his family reported him missing. He was visiting Memphis from his home in the Atlanta area in the summer of 2010 when he disappeared.
Fox News reported that the father of six was last seen on July 18, 2010, as he left the home of his ex-wife, Sherra Wright. According to an affidavit, Sherra told police she saw him leave her home carrying money and a box of drugs. She also claims to have overheard her ex-husband on the phone telling someone that he was going to “flip something for $110,000.”
READ MORE: Sherra Wright: Ex-Wife of NBAer Lorenzen Wright Pleads Guilty to Facilitating His Murder
#WATCH: After an emotional trial, Deborah Marion, Lorenzen Wright’s mother, reacts to Billy Ray Turner’s conviction. https://t.co/Un2WVH4480 pic.twitter.com/KK49FFtake
— ABC24 Memphis (@ABC24Memphis) March 21, 2022
Sherra said Lorenzen left her home in a car with a person she could not identify. Wright’s deteriorated body was found in a field near some woods in the height of summer — which complicated the investigation. His corpse weighed 57 pounds. Wright’s playing weight was around 225 pounds. An autopsy report showed bullet fragments were lodged in his skull, chest and right forearm.
Here’s more from TMZ:
Prosecutors alleged Wright’s ex-wife, Sherra Wright, hired two other people, including Turner, to commit the murder by luring Wright to the field under the guise they were there to meet someone who owed his ex money. As for Sherra, she previously plead guilty to facilitation of murder and facilitation to commit first-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in July 2019. She will be eligible for parole after only 9 years.
Turner pled not guilty to first-degree murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy. A jury found him guilty on all charges on Monday after deliberating for only 3 hours. He will serve life in prison for the murder charge and will later be sentenced for the other two charges. Watch the video report below.
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